The Carbon Black market development in 2018 – What to expect in the second half of the year?

A few months after our reflection of the Carbon Black Market for 2017, we reflect once more the ongoing trend in 2018.

Prices for Carbon Black are still deeply influenced by the continuously increasing oil price and dollar exchange rate.

Different institutes and stakeholders in the market, also indicate the ongoing trend in 2018.

The British Coating Federation published the following reflection of 2017 and forecast for 2018 of the Brent Crude Oil Price on January 19th 2018:

„In terms of the outlook for 2018, the average forecast for oil prices is for a 6% increase in Brent Spot prices over the coming year but already this month the daily price has touched $69 per barrel (compared with an average of $63 in November 2017) with latest futures prices suggesting the increase for 2018 could be well over 10% or more“.

Due to the closure of many factories in China caused by environmental regulations, the demand for both, Carbon Black as well as for feedstock used to produce Carbon Black has risen, which currently influences availability and pricing in the market.

Carbon Black shortage also leads to shutdowns of several tyre plants in Asia.

We expect further increasing of Carbon Black prices for the 3rd quarter of 2018. Although the dynamic changes in the market are a big challenge for all players, the PentaCarbon GmbH extends successful partnerships with its’ customers. We are eager to learn if the minor higher demand for Carbon Black will remain during the summer time. As usual time will show.